The Halo’s form and size is designed to create a more ‘organic feeling’ space for the performer to work with. The combination of radically improved performance in almost every area of currently available technology, by much bigger than other portable booths, and wraps around top and bottom, to a maximum rear depth of almost 100 mm to improve room isolation and absorption without dominating the room sound. The reflection filter has now been a staple of the recording setup for a long time now, and although there have been quite a few different filters on the market, the general design hasn't changed all that much. The Halo is more expensive than many similar products, so it does need to trade on quality over value for money.

Both the Aston and Kaotica Eyeball adopt futuristic designs that we’re personally huge fans of. You have to admire any product that pushes the boundaries. Then as an actual product, the Aston shines too. Compared to its competitors it’s significantly better value – considering you can pay pretty much the same for what is essentially a ball of foam (the Kaotica eyeball), we’d even be tempted to say that this bespoke mic shield, with it’s innovative PET felt and acoustic ribbing isn’t just good value – it’s a bargain! Whether you choose the sE Reflection Filter or the Aston Halo, you shouldn’t be disappointed with the build quality. Both these reflection filters feel really premium and are well engineered. Although with it weighing 3x more than the sE, the Aston does feel the most sturdy. In fact, the only instance where we think you should think twice, or at the very least assess whether a Halo would be worth it, is if you don’t really need a mic isolation shield full stop. In other words, you’ve already got a fully sound-treated room or free access to a professional studio. In which case, this purple shield would serve more as a prop than a functional piece of equipment. But saying that, it would look pretty killer as part of a music video, and certainly screams “pro producer” to any artist who walks into your studio. All of which then means you can make a fair comparison and of course reach your own conclusion. After all, everyone’ setup is different, as are their requirements,, so while we might think the Halo’s worth every penny, you might think different. So let’s gets into it – here’s everything you need to know about the Aston Halo reflection filter… Key detailsBecause with the Halo, the centre of gravity is directly above the top of the mic stand, there’s little chance of it causing your mic stand to tip over. Good news for those of you with precious condenser microphones! Safe to say, if it’s good enough for Drake, then it’s good enough for virtually everyone. How do you attach an Aston Halo? The multi-award winning Aston Origin is a high-performance cardioid condenser microphone utilising a one inch (1″) gold evaporated capsule. It's versatile enough to use with any instrument and, for singer-songwriters, excels on acoustic guitar and vocals. Its hand-selected capsule is paired with high-end transformerless circuitry using only the finest components. Probably the most noticeable difference between the Aston halo and the Kaotica Eyeball is that the Aston is far more a isolation booth, whereas the eyeball is pretty much a mic cover. We like to think of it as an oversized mic windshield – you know, the type newsreaders have on their mic. Therefore, you can record a lot further away from the Aston Halo than you can the Kaotica Eyeball.

Halo’s unique design is much bigger than other portable booths, and wraps around top and bottom to a maximum rear depth of almost 100mm to improve room isolation and absorption without dominating the room sound. Its textured and wave-formed surface also helps diffuse direct sound. Yet another perk of that PET felt is the size and weight of the Aston. Therefore, we’re yet to find a mic isolation shield that can match it in terms of portability. Also being bigger = more acoustic absorption = a clearer sound.Right, so before we put this mic isolation shield against its most fierce rivals, it makes sense to first give you a rundown the Aston Halo specs. That way when you go onto read the rest of this review, you can be clear about exactly what the Aston Halo mic isolation booth offers + why we’re so crazy about it! In fact, that’s the great thing about it. You don’t need a treated room to get solid sounding vocals out of this mic shield. Neither do you need expensive equipment – all you need is a decent condenser mic, XLR cable as well as a good pop filter and you’re practically ready to start recording. I tested the Halo for a vocal recording session (there’s no reason it can’t be used for other sources) and found it easy to set up and easy to adjust. It proved very effective in screening out room ‘live-ness’ but, as with all other such devices, if you are working in a seriously bad room, then you should also put a further large absorber behind the vocalist — a foam panel or a polyester duvet would do the job. This is to intercept reflections from the wall behind that might otherwise find their way into the open side of the screen, and onto the hot side of the mic. My own studio is fitted with basic acoustic treatment, so I used the Halo on its own. The subjective results were perfectly clean; I could discern no audible coloration.